A Los Angeles firefighter was sentenced to six months in jail on Tuesday after he was found guilty for beating a woman who was feeding stray cats in September 2013.
Ian Eulian, 39, will also spend three years on formal probation and he must complete 25 days of Caltrans work and a year of anger management classes. Eulian is free on a $20,000 bond pending an appeal of his sentence.
Eulian attacked Rebecca Stafford, who was 47 at the time of the incident, in September 2013 in the West Adams area while she was inside her parked car.
Eulian leaned inside the parked car and yelled at Stafford, who responded by throwing cat kibble at him, before punching her twice, pulling her out of the car and hitting her again, letting her fall to the ground unconscious, according to a written statement from the District Attorney's office.
Eulian's mother, Lonieta Fontaine, was also present during the attack, which was caught on surveillance video. The prosecution said after Stafford regained consciousness, Eulian and his mother told her she tripped and hit her head on her car before driving her home.
Eulian testified that he was trying to protect his mother from Stafford during his first trial in 2014, in which resulted in a hung jury. Before his sentence was handed down on Tuesday, Eulian apologized to Stafford, saying, "I'm sorry."
Stafford thanked him for his apology.
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Neighbors told NBC4 News in 2013 that Stafford was known to care for the stray cats in the neighborhood.
Jurors were shown the surveillance video during the trial.
LA County Superior Court Judge Jose Sandoval sentenced Eulian after he was found guilty last month of one felony count of battery with serious bodily injury and one count of assault by means to likely produce great bodily injury.
Eulian "resigned subject to expected termination" from his position as a firefighter, according to his attorney.
His mother was charged with one count of accessory after the incident, but the case was later dismissed.
City News Service contributed to this report.
